” Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”

Change is something that can happen in an instant and transform our lives forever. But change in society, in a profession, in a culture - these types of changes can take years, decades, generations. And the time it takes us to perceive such a change can be significantly longer.

The legal profession has gradually been transforming itself. Once upon a time, it was a highly elitist profession comprised of white, public school educated, Russell group at minimum, but more often the not, Oxbridge graduates and it was very male.

Today that demographic is not even the norm. Our profession genuinely is diverse. More women than men study law. Schemes like City Solicitors Horizons and City Century mean young people from all walks of society have access. People of colour, people in the LGBGTQ community and other ‘minorities’ are welcomed not barred.

But ask Joe Bloggs on the street how they perceive law - particularly City law - and they will describe it as it was in the last century.

One man wants to change all that - and he has put himself in a perfect position to do it. This Autumn, we welcome the new CEO of the City of London Law Society (CLLS), Patrick McCann - and one glance at his picture will show you he is not the stereotypical grey suit and tie wearing figment of most people’s imagination. He is his own person, always true to himself and proud of it.

Patrick believes City law is where so very many important things in our lives and our world are initiated and transacted - and he wants the CLLS to make sure that is understood and appreciated by a wider audience.

At a time when the already outdated and unreal view of City lawyers exists, we now have the media stories questioning solicitor’s ethics to add yet another layer of false perception.

Patrick says one of the very first things he wants to do in his new role is to engage with its key stakeholders to fully grasp what everyone believes the CLLS actually is, what it should stand for and what it should do. Whilst these sound like the basics, what happens over time is that fundamental principles are assumed - and it is time to regroup, reassess and make sure everyone is on the same page with a very clear understanding and vision.

People of colour, people in the LGBGTQ community and other ‘minorities’ are welcomed not barred.

“One of the reasons I took this job was that I believe the CLLS has a huge opportunity and the potential to make a difference - both in what we can offer to the profession and also in how the world views us. The foundations are all in place. My predecessor, Matthew Rous, did the most incredible job of getting the infrastructure working in the very best way; so I have been handed a perfectly functioning working machine. Now we have to decide where we want to take it. The CLLS needs to resonate not just with its members but with the profession as a whole, with the City and with society. That means we need to be current. We need to speak with ethics, grit and determination.”

Patrick is a great believer in the power of collaboration so wants to set up good working relationships with other societies both within and outside of the profession. He respects and appreciates that the CLLS is there to serve its members - but he also feels there is a duty to lead too.

“There is much debate at the moment about the health of the profession, its ethical standing, what we are giving back to society. I would love CLLS to be vocal on all this and start to shift perceptions and exemplify the things we should be celebrating. We need to show how City law is really the best in the world. Any major construction, and significant deal - all these things that are happening not just in the UK but all over the world have lawyers behind them - and they probably are London lawyers. I think we should be shouting about all these. And we should not be afraid to speak out about the difficult issues either - to face the challenges head on and resolve them.”

Patrick is keen to extend the demographic of the membership of CLLS. He wants to increase the diversity, to bring in younger members - to be truly open and inclusive.

Patrick is working on a five point strategy to incorporate all of his plans - and more besides.